In this paper, we introduce an index of structural changes of the economy, and investigate the relationship between economic growth and structural changes in the Japanese economy We find that (i) there is no clear relationship between structural changes and business cycles in the short run however, (ii) the long run movements of structural changes are positively correlated with economic growth. In the short run, our result is consistent with the neoclassical view it is also consistent with the Schumpeterian view of economic growth in the long run.